Letter: Scarborough zoning change ill-conceived

Opinion

Letter: Scarborough zoning change ill-conceived

Monday, March 4, 2013

I write to express my disappointment with the Scarborough Town Council’s support of the zoning change in Dunstan Corner approved at the Feb. 20 meeting. The consideration given that evening to this issue, for which many residents turned out despite the fact that the meeting was held in the middle of February school vacation week, was cursory and disappointing. It was, at times, even misinformed: References to the Planning Board’s supposed support of this change were incorrect – the board actually disapproved of this action by a 4-2 margin.

Despite the focus on a multi-family apartment building currently envisioned for the site, this zoning change opens the door to a wide variety of retail possibilities in the midst of a heavily residential area of Dunstan – restaurants, health clubs and stores. The council kicked this can back down the hallway to the same Planning Board that opposed this change, and which will now be tasked with trying to mitigate the effects on the numerous existing residential properties affected by this vote.